Improved meat-choppee



@with tategatwt @Hire NEHEMIAH' L. HATCH, OF CAIE ELIZABETH, MAINE,ASSIGNCR TC HIMSELF AND J. W. GAVETT, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 76,187, dated Marc/7L 31, 1868.

'inmerso nnarenorrnn.

TO ALL WHOM` IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, NEHEMIAH L. HATCH, Aof Cape Elizabeth, in the countyof Cumberland, and State of Maine, have invented a new and usefulImproved Meat-Chopper; and I hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others to makeend use my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which-.f

Figure I shows an end-elevation.

` Figure 2 is a side elevation Yof the same.

The object of myinvention is to supply a .simple and effective devicefor cutting or chopping meat and other articles of like nature. i "Inhotels and large eating and boarding-houses such a utensil is of greatbenefit. rlhose in common use are complicated-and costly, and are bothliable to become out of repair, and also quite diflc'ult to keep cleanwhile in working condition.

The description ofthe figures is as follows: At a, lig. 1, is shown theframe of the cutter, which moves upon tracks b, on the outside of thetray c. Through-this frame a, atd, is passed a shaft, e, to one end ofwhich is attached a crank,f, and. to the other a large geared wheel, g.This wheel g meshes `into a smaller geur, L, which drives the-knife, bymeans of the crank-'shaft z', attached to the jointed driving-arm j.`This arm is passed through the bark, to give increased stCadness, andthe knife Z plays through aslot in a. guidefrarne, m, attached to themainframe at, and moving with it, by which means the knife is clearedfrom all remnants of the'meat, &,c'., which would otherwise cling to theblade, but which, by the operation of this device, fall back into thetray. Steadiness is given to the'tnotion of the machine byabalancenvheel, n, attached to the crankshaft. By means ofthe handle o,on the frame @,vit can be moved as desired, carrying with it the knifeand the gears.

The operatzion of my invention is as follows: Grasp the handle o, andgive revolution to the crank j', moving with it the gears and knife', ata greater or less degree of speed, as may be desired. Move the frame aalong the tracks on the tray, by means ofthe handle, over cvery\portionof the meat, Ste., until it'is chopped as ne as may be wished. rIheframe, gears, fric., may be removed entirely'from the tray when not inuse, if desired.

In order to render. the whole operation automatic, I make an attachmentto the frame'a, which I will now describe. j l

A shaft, p, passes through the lower' portion of the frame, having atene end a ratchet, q. A pawl, 7', is attached eccentricnlly to thebalance-wheel n, and passes through a spring guidinghrm s. l his movesthe ratchet Q one tooth for every revelation ofthe balance-wheel, Vandthe ratchet imparts such motion to the shaftl je. A catchpawl, t, keepsthe ratehetvin place, and retains it there. To the shaft 2J is attacheda cord, u, having at one end a ring, o, which is placed over a post, zo,at one end ofthe tray.

The operation is as fell ws: When the wheels' are revolved, the paw] 9*moves the ratchet, vwhich revolves the shaft, and windsup the cord u.ThisV draws the frame, gears, and knife forward longitudinally over thetray, on the rails b, without any zissistance from the handle. When theframe has thus travelled the length of the tra-y., and the cord`isgwound up, the ring,r v is'remcved. from the post by thewiniling ofthe cordlifting it therefrom. The frame may be then slipped back totheopposite end of the tray, the 4cord unwound, and the operationrepeated.` V l l I What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, isfl.' The sliding frame (t, with crank f, shaft e,gears g h, crank-shaft z', jointed driving-rod j, balance-wheel n, andhandl'e 0,.i'n combination with the'rciled tray, substantially nsdescribed. i

2. The sliding frame a,with the shafts e and z', crank f, gears L g,knife Z, and jointed rod j, in conjunction. with wheel n, pawl `7,spring-rod s, pawl t, ratchet g, shaft lo, cord u, and post, all incombination with the railed tray,` asand for the purposes set forth.l

NEHEMIAH L. HATCH. Witnesses:

YW. H. CLIFFORD, WM. FRANK SEAVEY.

